PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Amjad AlMahameed
AU  - John R. Bartholomew
AU  - Mary McGrae Mcdermott
TI  - The magnitude of the problem of peripheral arterial disease
DP  - 2006 Oct 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - S2--S7
VI  - 73
IP  - 10 suppl 4
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/73/10_suppl_4/S2.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/73/10_suppl_4/S2.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med2006 Oct 01; 73
AB  - The prevalence of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) varies across populations, based on the groups studied and the detection methods used. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a more sensitive tool for PAD detection than is screening for intermittent claudication (IC); only about 10% to 30% of patients diagnosed with PAD based on the ABI have classic symptoms of IC. The prevalence of PAD increases markedly with older age and in persons with diabetes or a history of smoking; prevalence also is elevated in persons with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, or chronic kidney disease. PAD is more prevalent in primary care medical practices than in community-dwelling populations. PAD (defined as an ABI < 0.90) is associated with a twofold to threefold increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. Borderline and low-normal ABI values, as well as elevated ABI values (> 1.30 or > 1.40), are increasingly recognized as being associated with elevated cardiovascular mortality. Persons with PAD have significantly increased functional impairment and elevated rates of functional decline relative to those without PAD.